Keep In Touch
by snifflyfists314
Summary: Where can I find them, my friends? Maya wishes not on a star, but on a yearbook and finds it difficult to keep in touch with her own reality. And when time runs out, she realises that she doesn't want to go back, and it's for all the wrong reasons. [Updated every Wednesday and Saturday]
1. careful what you wish for

**Hey guys! Here's a slightly more detailed summary:**

 **'** **I have no interest living in a world without Riley or Farkle. Do you know where I can find them?' 'In the school yearbook. Keep in touch and have an awesome summer' Maya wishes that everything could be just like in the yearbook but she forgets that little clause about her and Lucas being a couple. And that comes true. Just for a week. And when she goes back, well she doesn't want to.**

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"Guys, listen," she said, squishing her petite frame between 'Morotia' and 'Donnie Barnes'.

"Okay, I know you're hurt. I know what people say can be upsetting, but I have no interest living in a world without Riley or Farkle, and I'm not going anywhere until you two come back, ya hear me?" Maya had never felt so lost before, knowing that the two people she was sitting next to, weren't the people she really knew and loved. On the verge of tears, Farkle had to unknowingly make it worse, "Maya, the people you knew aren't here anymore."

Fighting back the urge to break down and cry, she asked, "Then, can you please tell me where I can find them?" Just then, something happened that she never thought would ever happen in her lifetime. Riley said, "They're in the school yearbook, keep in touch and have an awesome summer." With a flip of her hair, she resumed her persona as Morotia Black, brooding over everything in the world. Maya couldn't take it anymore, so she walked off, muttering a 'Knowing you is so hard'.

Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it. She had meant every word she had said. If Riley or Farkle didn't come back, she wouldn't have anyone. Sure, Lucas was a good friend, but she had known Riley and Farkle since the 1st grade. And if the people she had known for 7 years weren't there anymore, then who had she been friends with? She bit her lip as a single tear trickled down her pale cheek. She had to tell herself to be strong. Big girls don't cry. They don't cry when their friends are gone, they don't cry when they have no one. They just don't, right?

She looked up to the sky. She didn't believe in any of that stuff, but if there was someone up there listening to her, maybe her ancestor, someone, anyone who cared about her, she was hoping they would listen. She muttered, "I wish everything in the yearbook would happen. I wish Farkle would be Farkle, I wish Riley would be Riley. I just wish everything in the yearbook was true." She stood there for a few more seconds and was just about to walk home - out the Matthews door and not the window - , when she realised she had forgotten her phone. In her despair, she had left it on Riley's bed. Wiping away all signs that she had been crying, she opened the door.

She had expected Farkle and Riley to be sitting in her dark room, 'pondering the futility of caring'. That was what she had expected to see. She, however, had definitely not expected seeing smiley faces plastered all along the wall, along with a very very happy Riley dancing about.

"Um, Riles, when did all this happen?" Maya asked. Riley giggled and pulled Maya to the window.

"Oh, Maya, isn't today such a wonderful day? There's no homework, the sun is out, everything is just so chip, chip, chipper! Oh I could just go on about lollipops and circuses and things that rhyme with that!" Riley exclaimed. Maya raised an eyebrow and asked, "Riles, what's going on? What happened to… Morotia?" She gestured to Riley's clothes, which had now become a bright pink dress with polka dots. Cocking her head to the side, Riley asked, "Who's Morotia? Is she a new girl?" Maya shook her head, was all this real? Firstly, when did Riley have the time to take down all her black decorations and put up all these bright ones that simply barfed happiness? Secondly, what happened to overreacting to the yearbook? Grabbing her phone, which she was glad had not been Riley-fied, she ran out the window, saying that her mom needed her help.

* * *

The next day, Maya was mind numbingly chucking books into her locker. While she was physically in school, her mind was thinking about all the possible things that could have happened to Riley. Maybe Maya's speech had finally gotten to her and she realised that she didn't have to care what other people thought of her, only what she thought of herself. Maybe she had finally realised that she should only listen to those that cared about her. The only lingering question was how she had gotten rid of all the black cloth…

Smiling to herself, she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice a figure looming behind her. She took a step backwards to close her locker but it swung shut by itself. The figure turned her around and put his oh-so-muscular arms by either side of her. Her eyes swept up and saw the all too familiar face of a certain cowboy.

"Huckleberry, what are you doing?" Maya asked, with a look of annoyance. Without saying a word, Lucas leaned forward, eyes half closed and a smirk forming, but jumped back when Maya shrieked.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She said as she ducked under his arms and ran off. Lucas' eyes widened as he made sure that no one had seen the very embarrassing scene that had just occurred. As Maya stomped off to her next class, she saw Farkle. Except he wasn't the Farkle she talked to yesterday. All signs of Donnie Barnes had been wiped clean. He had a turtle neck on, that familiar bowl cut and the cheeky smile on him. Too frustrated to even think about Farkle's sudden change, Maya walked off, ignoring Farkle's 'Hey Maya'.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the core four met at their usual hangout, Topanga's. There was one thing missing, one person rather. Maya. Lucas said he hadn't seen her since that morning's shock, Farkle's response was the same. At least, Riley had seen her at lunch and had told her about what she did the previous day. What was strange was that Maya hadn't even messaged Riley to tell her where she went. It was so… un-Maya. Even when she was angry, she would usually show up at Topanga's, at most 5 minutes late, to vent about it. This was something different.

"Wait, Lucas, did you just say Maya rejected your kiss? But you kiss her every morning before class!" Farkle asked, "Maybe she's going through a change in taste, y'know?" He said as he laughed to himself, shaking the turtleneck. Riley chipped in, a smile permanently glued to her face,"That's nonsense, Farkle. Maya did say she had to help her mom with something at home, Maya is a very responsible person, sometimes." Lucas rolled his eyes and pointed to the counter, "Uh Riley, Maya's mom is over there." Riley blinked several times and noticed the flaw in her argument. However, she could not think of any other possible reason for Maya's absence, not without putting Maya in a bad light, which she certainly did not want to do.

"Actually, maybe it's the opposite. Maybe Maya's going through family problems with her mom. Maybe it has something to do with her dad. Maybe…" Farkle went on, his genius brain skimming through a thousand and one possible reasons. But Riley could only wonder, what was wrong with Maya? She had never not told any of them what happened to her. Many years ago, she would usually tell Riley everything, every nitty gritty detail of each other's life. Recently, that person had become Lucas, when they had started going out. Sure, it was slightly difficult for Riley to accept, but she always wanted what was best for both of them. That's what made her such a positive person, after all.

In actuality, Maya was at home, staring at her ceiling. She spent the entire afternoon, evening and night doing this, too caught up in her own thoughts to even eat, not that her mother would really check up on her, being too busy working. First of all, Riley was way too happy for her own good. Usually, Riley was positive and perky, but the real Riley was realistic, down to earth, her head definitely wasn't stuck up in the clouds. Even when she had gotten a B+ on her test that day, that smile on her face never faded, which was starting to scare Maya. Next, Farkle. The turtle necks, the haircut, the lack of a beanie which he had recently taken a liking to, everything about Farkle today was way too… Farkle. It was like someone had taken the Farkle side of him, cranked it up about a thousand notches and left it there, the Donnie Barnes side of him left to rot and die.

Finally, Lucas. In the morning, she could have sworn he had tried to kiss her, which was absolutely idiotic. Riley liked Lucas. Lucas liked Riley. Of that she was sure of. Then at lunch, she thought he almost called her 'babe'. What in the world was happening? It's like he was attracting her too much - wait. What was she saying? This was Ranger Rick of all people, the one guy who never failed to constantly set her teeth on edge with his bright eyes and his perfect words and those beautiful smirks that she absolutely lov-. _Nonononono_ , what was she talking about? What was going on with her? What was going on with all of them? That was when it hit her. Smiley Riley, Farkle Farkle, and romantic Lucas? _Aw shit no_ , her wish had come true. Everything that was in the yearbook was now her reality, and who knew how long she was going to be stuck there. Riley was most likely to smile herself to death, Farkle was most likely to be Farkle, and she and Lucas were - she shivered - favourite couple.

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 **What did you think? I would appreciate it if you follow, fave and/or leave a review, thanks! :)  
** _Next chapter: how is Maya going to cope in this strange new world?_


	2. first time for everything

**Thank you for all the reviews, faves, and follows!**

* * *

 _ **first time for everything**_

The next day, Maya plonked herself down at her desk, interested to see what new things would crop up today. Maybe Mr Matthews would come in a leotard and tutu? Perhaps Janitor Harley would become Principal Harley? Or maybe, maybe, school was cancelled? To her dismay, everything was normal, somehow. Aside from the fact that Riley was extra smiley and Farkle was, well, Farkle. As Mr Matthews began to write out a diagram on how to they should work on essays, Maya felt warm breath fanning over the cool skin on her neck, the faint smell of mint filling her nostrils, making just the smallest hairs on her neck stand. She almost, almost broke into a smirk but being too irked to turn around, she hissed, "What do you want, Huckleberry?" He sighed, breath still making her insides shiver, "I'm sorry if I did anything wrong yesterday, and I'm definitely sorry about last week."

Confused, Maya gave into her urge to turn around. He chuckled, "So am I forgiven?" Maya leaned towards him and glared, "I don't know, Cowboy. You've done quite enough, haven't you?" She puckered her lips and kissed the air, attempting to mock what he had almost done to her yesterday. Although she had no idea what happened 'last week', she just liked the feeling of getting to him. As she felt a 'hurrhurr' coming on, she smirked and apparently he took this as an approval. Without a second thought, he smirked and leaned forward even more, his soft and warm lips landing on hers. In that moment, Maya's mind had gone blank so all she could do was relax as she let him pull her towards him, almost flying off her seat in the process. She could practically taste the mint he had been chewing earlier, she could taste everything in him, everything about him, she knew and she felt it deep inside her and _boy_ was it good. Warm and soft, like him, tasted like him, felt like him. She had never known her first kiss would be like this, and to be honest, she never wanted it to end. Her mind begged her to stop, telling her that this was Ranger Rick, but what she was feeling was controlling her heart, and she just couldn't.

"Mr Friar. While I do encourage faithfulness in youths, I do not encourage all _this_ in my class, or on school grounds, if you don't mind," Mr Matthews said. He had finished drawing a diagram he expected them to use to plan an essay and had turned around to see Maya and Lucas going full on in his class. They gasped and turned around, cheeks going red. The entire class was giggling, not just at their inappropriate timing, but the fact that Lucas the Good, Mr Moral Compass had been caught kissing his girlfriend in the class taught by his ex-crush's father. Usually, they would sneak little forehead kisses but that was the most. This, was something that belonged on a big screen. And that was something that definitely should not be put on the record. Maya turned around one last time to giggle at Lucas' stunned face before returning to the land of education.

That afternoon, the gang was gathered in Topanga's and Riley kept shaking with excitement every time Maya looked at Lucas or vice versa. However, the rest of them pretended to not notice this and talk about that day's homework, or how horrible the cafeteria food was getting. Farkle said, "Oh yeah, Lucas, have you done that math homework we were supposed to have done?" Lucas chuckled and said, "Farkle, you know I've done it. And I know you've done it too. Come on, we're friends, not academic competitors."

"Sure we are, freak," Farkle muttered as he continued the homework. Unfortunately, in a true Riley fashion, she eventually burst out with whatever it is she was trying not to say.

"Maya! How are you not freaking out? You guys got caught going all lovey dovey in my dad's class, I mean what if the entire school knows that y'all kissed and ahhh I'm so happy for youuuu!" Riley practically screamed. Maya laughed, no matter what she was talking about, Riley was always one to cheer everyone up even if that day was an okay day.

"Well, Riles, if they don't already know from just now, they sure would now that you've shouted it out loud. Would you like me to accompany you to New York's highest point so you can tell the whole city?" Maya said. Riley laughed, "Oh Maya, we certainly couldn't do that… without a megaphone! But really, why aren't you jumping for joy. I mean sure, you guys have kissed before but never so, so, all out! Come on, I'm happy for you, be happy with me, ring power!"

The girls held up their friendship rings and laughed, and Maya knew that at that moment, she definitely loved smiley Riley. However, she had to admit she missed the 'upset face' of Riley, even though it was still 50% smiles.

As Maya lay her tired head down to rest that night, the faint sounds of water dripping from her apartment coming from the living room, she thought about everything that had happened that day. Her friends were definitely starting to feel more like her friends. Riley was back to her ray of sunshine-y self and Maya was definitely not. Farkle was spewing random facts at will and absorbing everything he could like the sponge he was. And Lucas, well that was something completely different. In a good way, that was. As her mind flickered back to the moment their lips touched, the moment her heart quivered and the way she felt so at ease, she realised that she definitely liked that. Maybe she didn't like Lucas being her boyfriend, or being all cringe-worthy or flirtatious, but she definitely liked what he could do, the way she could both feel them smiling when it happened, and at that point, for a girl stuck in this strange alternate world, that was all she needed.

* * *

This time, she was going to switch it up a bit. If she was going to be stuck in this world where she and Lucas were together, she might as well have a little fun right? Riley and Farkle were going to stand by the side, filming the whole thing for their own purposes. Although she and Lucas were supposedly 'together', Maya still had a clear enough mind to see that Riley and Farkle had something special. They were both smart, both naturally positive people, and although they weren't polar opposites like she and Lucas were, they were cute for each other. Returning her focus to the mission at hand, Maya snuck up on a preoccupied Lucas, and slammed his locker door. She placed her hands behind her back and bounced on her toes, saying, "Hey Huckleberry, missed me?"

Lucas whipped around and knew what she was doing. Taking a step closer such that their bodies were flushed together, Maya tiptoed even more such that her lips just brushed his. And this was different from yesterday's. This didn't feel like one where she needed him so badly it hurt, this one was light, soft, delicate. She would have said it was like kissing a pillow or a cloud, except it was warm and smelled like Lucas and, well it was Lucas, so that made it all the more delightful. She didn't know how to describe it exactly, except it felt like an especially special kiss. She stepped away and Lucas tipped his imaginary hat, saying in his Southern accent, "Maya, it's been less than a day, but I missed you, so all the more pleasure doing business with you ma'am." She quipped back, "The pleasure's all mine."

Grabbing his hand, she walked over to Riley and Farkle, who were actually giggling as they watched the video over and over and over again. Maya watched them and as Riley was laughing at her best friend, she caught Farkle's gaze flicker up to Riley, and that look was all too familiar. In the past 3 days, that was the way Lucas had been looking at Maya, and as much as she hated to admit it, the way she had started looking at Lucas. It was like looking at the stars, being in awe of this human being that you adored so much. Maya restrained her own giggle and was about to grab Riley's hand when she realised that her other was on Lucas'.

His hand was rough and warm. Rough from his old days in Texas, but warm, which helped because her hands were always cold. Her palm fit perfectly into his and without thinking, their fingers had interlaced, thumb next to thumb, finger next to finger. It was like the perfect jigsaw puzzle that she was a part of, and she had never been part of something perfect. For a split second, she was taken aback by the thought of being _with_ Huckleberry, and her hand quivered, loosening Lucas' grip. She stuttered before saying, "I… I gotta get to class. Come on Riles." With that, she dragged a confused Riley to class, leaving a shocked and equally confused Lucas and Farkle behind.

That day at lunch, as Maya walked over to the table where Farkle and Riley were sitting. She felt a warm arm being placed over her shoulders. She turned her head slightly to see that familiar smile.

"Hey babe. Um, what's up with you the past few days, are you feeling ok? Shortstack?" Lucas said, a smirk forming on his lips as he used Maya's nickname. Maya put the tray down on the table and turned to face him. She glanced at the floor, pretending to think of a response. Biting her lip, she took a step forward, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. She looked up into his eyes and said, "You know I hate it when you call me that, right?" Lucas chuckled and bent down to whisper into her ear, once again, his warm breath brushing across her neck, "Nah, you _love_ it. And you _love_ me." He rolled his tongue as he said those words, causing shivers to run down her spine. As he picked an apple off her tray, tossing it in the air, he sauntered off and said, "Ah, you know I'm right." She would have said no, except every word he said, every intonation in his voice, it had a sort of hypnotic effect on her, and so she could only grin. However much she loved it, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She was making Lucas fall in love with her even more, when she didn't love him for him in the first place. All she liked was the taste that he could give her. However, she couldn't ruin this alternate version of her life, all she could do was continue it and sustain it. Her life was bad as it was with Morotia and Donnie Barnes back in reality, she couldn't let another version of her suffer just as much. Pushing the depressing thoughts out of her head, she sat down with Riley and Farkle.

"Maya, you gotta stop being so touchy with Lucas. I think the other girls are starting to get a little jealous," Farkle pointed out. He gestured to the table next to them, where Missy and her gang were pointing and putting on the bitchiest bitch face Maya had ever seen. However, this was only to her joy, what she would give to make Missy so pissed off that just maybe, she would explode!

As the bell rang, Maya and Riley walked towards the main doors to find Lucas and Farkle waiting for them. Maya tapped on Lucas' knuckles and he rotated his wrist, grabbing her hand in response. He felt her jump and he grabbed her hand to steady her, the warmth spreading across the two bodies through that single point of contact. She could feel his very essence moving through her, she felt as if she could know everything that he was thinking. She blushed, saying, "Aw, you waited for me?" Lucas laughed and said, "I would say we were waiting for Riley since we're going to her place, but sure, I waited for you too." Although Maya was currently only playing the part of loving girlfriend for the kisses, she knew that she had to actually pretend to love for him for who he was and not just what he could do. She knew that what she was doing was shallow and stupid, but it was the most of what could she do. Riley put her arms around Maya and Farkle as they walked out of school over to her house. As they were walking, Maya asked, "Hey wait what exactly are we doing at Riley's place anyway? Don't we usually go to Topanga's?" Riley chirped back, "They're doing some monthly maintenance check to make sure the infrastructure is still secure and stuff. So we'll be studying at my place. That's ok with you guys right?"

"Riles, does that even qualify as a question?" Maya asked. She squeezed Lucas' hand tighter, loving the safety and warmth that it provided her, and hugged Riley closer as the four of them walked into Riley's apartment building. As Maya looked at each of her friends, she realised that this was the only paradise she ever needed. Spending the rest of her days with her 3 best friends. However, she realised that this was literally a dream come true. She made a silent prayer that her dream would never end, but were dreams really just dreams?

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 **What did you think? I would really appreciate it if you would fave, follow and/or review. Thanks! :)**


	3. just a few

**just a few**

"Riles, Farkle, are we still on tonight?" Maya hissed to them in the middle of class. It was a Friday, which meant that they were going to party all day and all night. The plan was to go and crash the Matthews' house for dinner, and then over to Maya's place for whatever it was they wanted to do. They would stay on at Riley's, but the unspoken truth was that when you were at Riley's, privacy was nonexistent, nothing fun could be done. They nodded vigorously and Maya let her hand fall back so that Lucas could catch it and squeeze it tight. She smiled as the four of them, even Farkle, counted down the seconds until school was out for the weekend.

That afternoon, they hung out at Topanga's. The excuse was to get homework done and plan on when to meet up to study, but they were really getting hyped up for that night. Of course, it was a weekly thing, but it was the only thing that got them going throughout the school week that begged to drag on forever. As the sun began to sink below the horizon, they ran over to Riley's house. Greeting Cory, Topanga and giving a quick piggy back to Auggie, they sat down by the dinner table. Being the gentleman he was, Lucas treated Maya like royalty, letting her sit before him, serving her and making almost everyone in the house burst while resisting the urge to 'Aww' at them.

"So, Mr Friar, Ms Hart, how has your self-control been lately?" Cory asked, referring to the incident a few days before. The four of them exchanged glances before bursting into a fit of laughter, they all knew how much Maya could totally stop herself from locking lips with Lucas. But that, was a story for another day.

"You know, back in our time, Cory and I were the weirdest couple in the school," Topanga started, and the four of them joined in to complete the sentence, "I was weird, Cory was celery." More laughter broke out around the apartment and Cory almost felt like he had added 3 new kids to his warm family. Before long, the clock struck 9 and they bade the Matthews' goodbye, walking down the road towards the Hart residences. They raided the fridge for whatever source of sugar they could find, if they couldn't drink, they could at least get sugar high right? Before, they had always tried to not drink alcohol, but tonight would be different.

"Hey hey hey, guess what I found! It's some kind of weird shaped bottle, it's got a pictures of grape, do you think it's grape juice?" Maya announced, putting on a surprised face that was very obviously fake. Farkle stood up and grabbed the bottle, and stroking his chin, he said, "Hmm, I don't know, but based on my expertise, science should always be carried out through observations, or in this case, taste tests!" However, Riley jumped to her feet and snatched the bottle from Farkle.

"Maya! The absurdity! This is obviously wine, alcohol! We're underage!... But it is for science, and science alone. We must carry out the investigation!" She sighed dramatically and Lucas and Farkle went outside to get the wine glasses from the two highest shelves, obviously put at that height for this exact purpose. Lucas popped open the bottle and poured the red liquid into each of their glasses. They each took a whiff of the wine and chugged it down like it was nothing. A few glasses later, Riley was the first to get hit by its effects. She ran over to Maya's phone and put it into the speaker, blasting the music at maximum volume. She grabbed Maya's hands and pulled her up, then proceeding to jump around as if she were in a nightclub.

Maya hoped with all her heart that her mother wouldn't suddenly come home to find 4 kids on the verge of getting drunk and clubbing in a room. _Screw this shit, let's have some fun_ , she thought and they each pulled the other up to their feet. As the night went on, the amount of alcohol in their systems only accumulated, in all of their bodies, except for one. Lucas the good. He refused to drink more than 2 glasses, afraid that if he did, none of them could stop the other from doing unspeakable things.

You could only tell Maya was drunk when she began spewing secrets. The first one to come out was when she grabbed Lucas' hands and jumped around, not even trying to be in time with the music. She shouted into his ears, "You know why you. Are Bucky McBoingBoing? Well the verrrryyy handsome Uncle Josh is called BOING! So if you're boingboing theennnn hahhahahahhaha!" This was something that he had never heard before, and all he could do was laugh it off, just to entertain the drunkard in front of him. The night went on with Maya shouting more inaudible phrases and Lucas laughing along just so she wouldn't get upset. Eventually, Riley and Farkle were the first ones to crash on the floor. As Maya realised that no one else was left dancing with her, she saw Lucas sitting by the side, absolutely undrunk.

"Aww, come on Ranger Roy. Lighten up a bit! Look, there's still a leeeettle wine left. Help me finish it, then we get rid of the body uh bottle hahahaha. Come on. For me?" Lucas had to catch her so she wouldn't fall on him as she finished her sentence. He helped her sit down and he picked up the bottle. He thought, _there's only two of us left, might as well._ He downed the rest of it in one gulp and immediately regretted it. As the darkness came to take him, the last thing he heard was Maya giggling away next to him.

* * *

Searing pain scorched through her brain. If she could, she would've torn open her head just to claw the pain away. She looked around her very, very messy room, and noticed that Riley and Farkle had left. _Well, if they were the first ones to conk out, they probably were the first to wake up_. Also, from what she knew, their parents would've dealt out much stricter punishments if they didn't find their children in bed. She turned to her left and realised Lucas was lying down right next to her. Carefully turning around, she lay down on her stomach and watched as he slept. After a while, she grew bored and began to tickle Lucas.

He began to stir, and Maya watched as he grabbed his forehead in pain, probably the same pain she was feeling, and his neck - he was ticklish after all -. She chuckled as he opened his eyes groggily, one blinking before the other. His eyes came into focus and he saw Maya smiling, and to him, that was the smile of an angel, the most beautiful one he had ever laid eyes on, even in his hungover state. He lay his head back down, knowing she had just watched him at his worst.

"Hey shortstack, I am so sorry you had to see me sleeping like that, it was probably horrific, am I right?" Lucas said as he looked over to her. She frowned at first, but moved closer and stared into his bright green eyes. Smirking, she said, "Nah, it was the best." And she kissed him. Again and again and again. First it was the mouth, then his forehead, then everything else. But it wasn't like that first kiss, no these were short and sweet and light. He held up his hand to hold her chin and kissed her over and over again, feeling a different gradient of curves each time. First was her cheek, then he moved down to her jawline, then her chin, and then he reached where he knew she would love. He placed his lips onto her neck, and breathed in, tightening his lips such that she practically shook. His lips parted into a smile as he continued pressing into her neck and it was at that moment that Maya learnt that he had a hold over her that no one else had ever had. She embraced Lucas in a hug while he kissed her and they sat there for a few seconds. Finally, she pushed herself up such that she was sitting on her feet, and said, "My, my, aren't you a mad dog?" He laughed, sitting up as well and resting against the foot of her bed.

"Well, you did say I'm Mary's little lamb, although I vaguely remember Mary had a middle name."

"And what's that, Bucky McBoingBoing?"

"Maya. Mary Maya. So by extension, that makes me Maya's little lamb, doesn't it?"

"I suppose it does."

And he sat up to be nearer her. Holding her face to his lips and kissing it delicately. He knew she tried to be tough most of the time, always having a playful banter with him, calling him names and acting like the resident bad girl, but he knew who she was inside. She was fragile, just like anyone else, and that's exactly how he wanted to treat her, like his treasure, his world, his everything. And so he just barely grazed her lips, but just enough such that she knew how much he loved her.

After sitting in silence, Lucas realised it was best if he left soon, or Maya's mother might just get the wrong idea. When he had one leg out the fire escape, he turned around and said, "You know, tomorrow is the day. 2 years since you and me became us. I've got something really special planned for you." With a wink, he fled the building, leaving a stunned Maya alone with her thoughts.

A few days ago, if you told her she would get Riley and Farkle back exactly the way they were, she wouldn't have believed it, although she would've liked to. A few days ago, if you told her she would be with Lucas, she wouldn't have wanted to believe it. A few days ago, if you told her she would enjoy his company, his love for her, and that they were coming to their 2nd year together, she would've kicked you where the sun never shines. That day, Maya realised that she was falling. And falling fast, way too fast for her own liking, but strangely enough, she was looking forward to it. She liked that she had someone who loved her for who she was, and to be honest, she was starting to learn things about Lucas that she had never known.

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 _ **I apologise if some of the descriptions are a bit off. I've never experienced any of these things before. Anyway, what do you think? I would really appreciate it if you fave, follow and/or review. Thanks! :)**_


	4. the bright side, the better side

**the bright side, the better side**

That afternoon, the 4 of them met at Topanga's, with killer headaches, predictably. The moment Maya stepped into the cafe and saw Lucas already there, she couldn't help but blush, remembering what they had done that morning. Lucas winked at her and pat the seat next to him, inviting her to sit there. Riley noticed the awkward eye contact and asked, "Ok, spill. Farkle and I left earlier for a reason you know, what did you guys do?" Maya spoke first, "Oh, nothing, nothing, I just woke him up."

"And then we just kissed is all," Lucas continued. Maya heaved a sigh of relief, glad they weren't going to go into details. To throw attention off them, Maya asked in return, "So what did you and Farkle do all morning, huh? Have some alone time, maybe hang out somewhere, I don't know, nice and soft?"

"No no, nothing of that sort. I just walked Riley home and we talked by her bay window for a while. Nothing as exciting as the both of you, I'm sure," Farkle replied, a little too quickly to be natural. As if on cue, Riley held a hand up to her cheek and blushed. Maya jumped up and pointed to them, "Aha! Farkle, you kissed Riley! Awww!" Riley nodded slowly before realising what she had just acknowledged.

"What? No, no as in he just said goodbye and you know, pecked, is all," she explained. Farkle cheekily nodded, his face almost turning as red as his turtleneck. Lucas grabbed Maya's shoulders and sat her down, placing his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer so that her head could rest on his broad shoulders.

"Calm down there babe. What's a little peck on the cheek compared to what we had, what we have?" He looked into her bright eyes and put his other hand on her lap. She picked it up and held it tight. She looked up at him and it was if a conversation was being carried out telepathically, through the eyes, their hands, their hearts. He had been talking about kisses, but she knew that what they had was so much more than that. It was a mutual understanding, she couldn't really form it into words, she just felt right. It felt like forever before she finally said, "I like us very much, Lucas."

Inspired, Farkle tried putting his arm around Riley but she laughed and lifted her hand to block his incoming lips. She said, "It was one kiss, Farkle." Maya and Lucas laughed as Farkle bowed his head in shame and pouted.

* * *

The boy sneaked inside. Damn that creaky door, alerting his mother to his presence. The woman came out of her room, hair in a mess, night gown all crumpled. She ran up to him and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug.

"Lucas! Where were you? I was so worried! I tried calling Mr Matthews but he said all of you had gone over to Maya's, why didn't you come back last night? This morning I thought you would have come back but your bed was empty! No note either, what's going on with you?" His mother exploded with all the questions that made Lucas' headache relapse. He explained, "Mom, relax, we spent the night at Maya's, and I just came back from the cafe, I'm alright, I'm alright Mom." He had barely finished talking when he knew what was going to come from that.

"Maya's huh? Please don't tell me you're together with her, you know I don't approve of that hooligan girl being your girlfriend. She's a horrible influence on you. Just friends right? You know what would happen if-" Lucas cut his mother off so he wouldn't have to hear his punishment for the umpteenth time. He knew that his mother didn't like Maya, but allowed their friendship for Lucas' sake. And he knew that if his mother ever found out about them, he would have to pick up everything and move to some other city where he would have to start all over from scratch. After apologising for interrupting her, Lucas sighed and trudged to his room, saying that he had a test to study for.

He loved his mother. He really did. It was just that sometimes she could overreact so much that he was sure if he asked to go upstate for the weekend, she would explode. She thought that if he spent too much time with Maya, he would go back to being the boy who was kicked out of his school in Texas for being in a fight. She thought that Maya would make him a bad boy. And if he had to move away again because of one slip up, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. He lay down on his bed and began to think of her. He loved what they had, some might think it was too physical, but he knew that every single touch and kiss was laced with the poison of love. The poison that could make one's heart burn and ache, but also one that one could get addicted to if not careful. Maya gave Lucas something he knew that Riley could never give. They had both liked each other, but he knew that Riley would have been all sweet and cringe worthy and 'couple goals', but he wanted more. Riley couldn't have done that. _No, stop, don't be mean to Riley, she's way too nice for that_. And see that was the problem. Riley didn't have a shred of bad girl essence in her, not the way Maya did. Sure, Riley would listen to him and talk him through his problems, but Maya _understood_ him. Everything he had been through, she had too. Riley couldn't do noth - _stop, stop it. You are a changed man. You aren't the bad boy who kicked and punched and slapped. You are Lucas the Good, everyone's moral compass, that's who you are, who you're supposed to be. Snap out of it, you idiot. You are not a bad guy._ He tried so very hard to convince himself of this, but a phrase popped into his head. One about couples supposedly bringing out the best of each other. And if being with Maya was resurfacing this darker side of him, did that mean this was the best of him?

* * *

 **What did you think? I would really appreciate if you fave, follow and/or review. Thanks! :)**


	5. worth it

**worth it**

7am, the clock read. _Beep beep, beep beep._ Although it was a Sunday, Maya had set her alarm clock especially early. Why? Well it was an especially special day. Her and Lucas' 2 year anniversary. She still cringed at that phrase. She whispered to herself, "Me and Lucas. Lucas and me." She hated to admit it, but it sounded good as those words rolled off her tongue. She pulled on a shirt and shorts, and climbed down the fire escape, running over to where Lucas' apartment was. Although the last time she remembered she had been there was for a project back in middle school, she could still recall each and every turn and corner. She knocked on the window several times, hoping that Lucas wasn't a heavy sleeper.

Noticing movement on the bed, she sat by the windowsill, waiting for him to realise she was there. He sat up, eyes half open and saw her sitting there, smiles and all. His eyes widened and he scrambled out of bed, running over to the window. He opened it and she climbed inside but before he could get a word out, she asked, "One question Huckleberry, are those bunny slippers?" His face turned red at once and he kicked the slippers off to the side of his room. Ruffling his hair, he replied nonchalantly, "No, no, what slippers?" Lucas was still a child inside and Maya knew that now. She placed her hands on his shoulders and said, "Happy anniversary babe." He smiled and before he knew it she had pulled him in for a kiss.

It was way too early in the morning for him to feeling like that, but that's why Sunday mornings were good, right? Now, he was holding her waist and she was putting her arms around his neck, almost clawing at it. She took her hands off his neck, still lip locked, and tried to get her shirt off. But Lucas' pulled it back down before he saw anything. He broke the contact and noticed as a look of disappointment took over her.

"What's wrong? Too scared?" Maya said, batting her eyelids, hands still by the hem of her shirt. He pulled her over to his bed and sat down. He didn't really know how to explain it, but he wanted to do this right, and this wasn't it. He wasn't going to lose it, not yet at least. But how to explain to her when she almost initiated it?

"Look, Maya, I want to but, I want to do this right. Not now, but stick around enough and you know, we can give it a shot. But not yet, I don't want to be responsible if something happens, alright?" He said, hoping she would understand where he was coming from. She let go of her shirt and placed her hands on his lap.

"Alright, I just thought that you would've wanted to, so… Yeah, but can we at least do this?" And all Lucas saw was a wide smile and her eyes form into those crescents they made when she was really happy, and he knew what was coming for him. He readied himself for the impact of her body and… there it was. They were side by side, on his bed, and it was everything he ever dreamed of. Her arms were around his neck and he was holding onto her waist, again. And all Lucas can think was ' _my parents warned me about drugs in the street but never ones with brown eyes and a heartbeat'_ , something he had read the night before, and damn was it true at this instant.

And as Maya pressed herself closer to him, their bodies were against each other, moving in perfect synchrony. When she began to move away, he would move himself closer, and then she would push in deeper, causing him to move closer to his side of the bed. The only breaks they took lasted milliseconds and it was just to gasp for air. They didn't care if they suffocated at that moment, because it was as if they were each other's only source of oxygen. Without the other, they might as well not be alive. They were both grinning like fools, but to Maya, she didn't care how she looked. She only cared what she was tasting, what she was smelling. He still had morning breath but she didn't give a damn. It was just so good that she definitely never wanted to stop.

Lucas waited for the right time, and he broke contact, before planting his lips at the side of her neck. He could feel her pulse and after every beat, he inhaled and kissed deeper. Maya was practically shaking, shivers being sent down her spine almost every second. Every time he kissed, she would inhale sharply, followed by a short giggle, and that was the way it was. She was hanging onto him tight, as if her life depended on it. "Kiss me, kill me," he could have sworn he heard her whisper into his ear. And he felt that if he continued this, he would go bad, and never go back, but he never wanted to. If it meant being with Maya, and loving her for the rest of his life, he didn't care who he was, good or bad, as long as he was with her. He was feasting on what he felt, and he was practically insatiable. Right then, she placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his head up and away from her.

"What's wrong shortstack? My goals too tall for you?" Lucas said, smirking. They lay on their sides, and she said, "No, no, I just wanted to take a break, but we'll go back to that, trust me." She gazed into his eyes and saw a whole universe, yet to be explored, and he saw a future in hers, one he wanted to explore with her.

"I was just… thinking. So many people say that we're polar opposites, that you're South, I'm North, you're the Sun and I'm the Moon but… We really aren't, are we? We've been abandoned, we've had to fend for ourselves. Although we aren't exactly the same either, I mean. To everyone else, you're the moral compass, a guide for everyone to follow. To everyone else, I'm some kind of trouble maker, the first one to get out of school every single day. But to me, you're no moral compass, you're more than that. You keep me grounded. You guide me. You guide who I am and who I will be. You.. you're my entire world, Lucas," Maya said, smiling as a single tear slid down her cheek. She never thought that she could be this happy, ever. He wiped it away and twirled a single lock of her blond hair around his finger.

"Listen, Maya. Everything you said, I couldn't agree more. You don't just listen to me, you understand me, you know my problems and you can empathise with them. Our family lives could both be better, and I try to hide it from the world, but you don't, which I find really courageous. And as long as my mother doesn't walk through that door and see you here, I could lie like this forever, just looking at you. You are beautiful, Maya, inside and out. You may think you're broken inside, and that you can't be fixed, but I think you just need to find the right pieces. And I can help you with that. I have been and I will be. 2 years ago, on this day, I asked you, Maya Penelope Hart, to be my girlfriend, and you said yes, and-"

"And that, Lucas, is why I love you."

Once again, she grabbed his cheeks and leapt onto him. Her lips were a drug and he was an addict. He wanted more and more and more, with every second that passed, his need was increasing. He felt like he could do anything in the world, just the two of them. He could rule the world, with Maya as his queen. They continued and all of a sudden, his hand shot up, landing on her thigh. Maya jolted and breathed, her mouth right by his ears, "Ooh, where'd you learn that one, Ranger Rick?" He laughed and held her tight, close to his own body. They were yin and yang. Each one had the essence of the other in themselves. Maya was dark but she had the light that Lucas tried to be. Lucas tried to be the light in everyone's darkness, but one cannot be the light without having a darkness of their own. As they gasped for air, Maya felt the warm breath on her neck, the same warm breath that had fanned her the first day this dream had started. She almost started to worry about the fact that this was a supposed 'dream', but Lucas hands quickly calmed her down. As they grew tired, they merely lay next to each other, staring again into each other's eyes. Lucas had been with this girl for 2 years, and this had to have been the best anniversary yet.

* * *

 **What do you think? Again, I'm sorry if any of the descriptions are inaccurate or awkward. I would really appreciate it if you fave, follow and/or review, thanks! :)**


	6. keep in touch

**keep in touch**

"Maya, where were you? I left my window open all morning waiting for you, are you alright?" Riley asked. It was later that afternoon and they were chatting by the bay window. Every Sunday morning, Maya would go to Riley's house and they would spend the entire morning online shopping or trying new clothes or whatever it is they wanted to do, except this morning.

Trying to hide the fact that she had been with Lucas, on Lucas, she made up an excuse that she had woken up late, hoping that Riley didn't see through her lie.

"Anyway, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I cannot wait for school. This new dress arrived in the mail today, look, it's all smiles for Riles!" Riley exclaimed. And it indeed was all smiles, it was a red dress with smiley faces dotted all over, _very Riley-esque_ , Maya thought.

"I can, in fact, believe I'm saying this, I cannot wait for school. Look at my new turtleneck. The neck is more airy so I don't keep feeling so claustrophobic, and it's my all time favourite colour," Farkle added.

"See, Maya, this is what I have to do when you're not around. I spend an entire morning with Farkle and only buy 1 dress! Just one! What are you doing to me?" Riley asked and Maya lay her head down on Riley's shoulders, laughing as she knew that nothing about Riley would ever change.

The four of them sat by that window the whole afternoon and Maya could have sworn that just for that moment, she was back in her own world with her 3 best friends.

As she lay awake that night, Maya thought back to the morning. Although she had been caught up in the heat of the moment, she realised that she had meant every word she had said. Without Lucas, even in her present day, she would have no one to hold her back from running out a janitor's closet. And those 3 words, she had never said them to him before, and she knew they were true. In her world, she had just been too blinded by denial to see it. If she didn't love Lucas, then why did she stop him from beating up Billy that day? If she didn't love Lucas, then why did she get so close to him at all? _I love Lucas_ , she thought, and those were a different set of words she never thought would cross her mind.

* * *

Maya got to school unusually early and waited for her friends at their usual spot. Riley strolled into school, backpack in hand, donned in a blouse, mini-skirt and heels?

"Hey, Riles, what happened to your smiley dress, you know, smiles for Riles?" Maya asked, "Did something happen to it?" Riley raised an eyebrow and said, "Uh, Maya, are you feeling okay? Did you eat something bad?" Maya was too lost in thought to reply. What was going on? Riley had seemed so excited to wear it, and now she didn't even know what that was?

The next person to walk through those doors was Farkle, except he didn't look very Farkle. He had on a beanie, a shirt and skinny jeans. She felt the need to ask him, "Where's your new turtleneck?" But he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Don't you remember, I told all of you a long time ago, those days are in the past. I may not be Donnie Barnes: Regular Guy, but I am Farkle: Finding Myself. Thought it'd fit better, don't you think?" This was all too much for Maya, Riley she could handle, but Farkle? At least the one person she could rely on was going to walk into school very very soon.

Concealing herself behind a pillar, she waited for the tall figure to walk through the doors. She jumped, right onto his back. She whispered into his ear, "Hey babe." And was thrown off before she could say anything else. Apparently Lucas had not realised that his attacker was Maya, and had practically judo flipped her to the ground.

"I'm so sorry Maya, I didn't know that was you, are you alright? And why did you call me ba-"

"Forget about it. Uh, sorry I think that milk I drank was a little old." Maya could only stare at the ground and wonder what was going on. How could Lucas not greet her with a kiss? Why was he acting like he wasn't… her… oh shit.

* * *

"Guys, this is going to sound really really weird, ok? See, when Riley was Morotia and Farkle was Donnie Barnes, I wished that everything in the yearbook would come true. So Riley became really smiley and Farkle was really… well, Farkle. And Lucas and I were…" She couldn't bear to say it, not when all of it was gone now.

"A couple?" Lucas finished, a tinge of concern in his voice. And Maya hated it. She hated that she had all these feelings for him, that she could tell everything he was feeling and all the meanings behind what he said, but he couldn't. He didn't feel anything for her, and she hatedhatedhated it.

"Yeah. I'm sorry if it sounds really really weird but it was just a dream and I'm probably just delusional. Hah. Let's just, let's just get back to the essay," Maya said. She had so much she wanted to say, but not to all of them, just that one person. She wanted to say how good he had made her feel, all while making her feel so bad, and she missed that. _How pathetic can you get Maya, one day without him and you're falling to pieces, see? You are broken_. No, no, no, I am _not_ broken. He said he would help me. He said I wasn't broken. _But he's not here now is he? Not the one you know. He's gone, and all you have is this one. The one that_ No. _doesn't_ No. _love_ No. _you._ That was a lie, she wanted to believe it, the Lucas she loved, the Lucas she still loves, he was coming back for her, right? He was. He is. He has to.

* * *

That evening, Maya paid a visit she knew she would regret, but it was a necessary one nonetheless. She knocked on the window and it opened for her, not because of any special reasons, only because of a mere friendship, which irked her.

"Hey, Lucas. I just wanted to ask you if we could, maybe-"

"Yeah?"

"Try out a kiss? I mean, I know it sounds weird but the dream me had no idea when it would be the last time I kissed dream you and it's really weird and out of the blue and uncharacteristic but I just need to know. You don't have to enjoy it, trust me, I didn't the first time, but, for me, and we never have to speak of it ever again to anyone. I promise. And Maya Hart doesn't break promises."

"Um, sure, but how would it look if I ran?... I'm kidding, I'm kidding, whatever you need shortstack."

Maya smiled to herself as she remembered how the other Lucas would coo her nickname into her ear. Even though she hated how it made her insecure about her height, she knew that it would always help her remember that Lucas loved pancakes, and Maya was his shortstack of pancakes.

Knowing the kiss she was about to initiate would definitely be the most awkward one ever, she took a step closer to Lucas and looked up into his eyes. Where she had seen the universe and a future yesterday, she only saw confusion, and that was it. Maya closed her eyes and tiptoed and for what she knew for sure was going to be the last time, she kissed him and it was short and sweet and if anything, it still tasted the same, felt the same, but didn't _feel_ the same, but it was something Maya would have loved to keep in touch with nonetheless.

* * *

 **Hey guys! This is officially the last chapter of Keep In Touch! But wait... there seems to be something in my document called Epilogue? Epilogue coming to you very very soon (before Wednesday). What did you think? I would really appreciate it if you fave, follow and/or review, thanks! :)**


	7. epilogue

**hey guys! i couldn't keep this from yall for much longer, so without further ado, here's the epilogue :)**

* * *

 **epilogue**

She pulled away from him and slowly opened her eyes. He looked to be in shock, maybe in shock that he had just kissed his friend, or maybe something else. Whatever it was, Maya couldn't get a read off him the way she could the other Lucas. This one was a blank slate. An empty easel. But all empty easels needed was paint right?

"Hey, thanks for that and I'm sorry if it was too-"

"Shush," Lucas had placed a finger over her lips and interrupted her. He continued, "Maya Penelope Hart, will you be my girlfriend?"

* * *

 **so. some of you asked for more than an epilogue. i was thinking of a sequel where their relationship develops into what it is/was, but my inspiration is running a little dry, if any of you have some ideas, please leave them in your reviews! thank you so much for following my story and i hope that i can write more for yall soon, please fave and review, thanks! :)**


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